Little Plums Nursery Stapleford

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children enjoy their time at the inclusive nursery. They form close bonds with their key person and the wider team. Babies settle quickly, as nurturing staff provide a cosy and homely environment. They thrive as staff are attentive, offering cuddles and reassurance, and ensure that each baby's individual routine is followed. Older children make friends and enjoy one another's company, chatting as they play together. They are highly engaged in the activities, and they independently choose from a wide range of play ideas set up for them. Staff support the development of children's emotional well-being with their gentle and kind interactions. Children's behaviour is very positive, and staff are excellent role models for them. For example, staff encourage children to help each other to find resources as children learn to play together.

The nursery put families and children at the heart of everything they do. Staff use the community to extend children's experiences. For example, they regularly visit the local library to stimulate children's love of books and enjoy reading stories together. Children are eager to investigate activities that staff plan for them. Toddlers develop their fine motor skills as they pour oats into different containers. Older children create pictures using a variety of mark-making resources, developing their own ideas.

What does the early years setting do well and what does it need to do better?

• Staff organise the environment to enable children to explore their own play ideas. They encourage children to use additional resources to further develop their play. For example, older children collect dry wipe boards to draw on rather than paper so that they can change their picture. Staff follow children's interests to capture their attention when creating activities and experiences. However, at times, staff do not use their interactions to challenge children to achieve more than they already know and can do.
• Staff are clear on the curriculum goals and what they want children to learn before they move to the next room in the nursery. They use their observations of children's play and information from parents to assess what children know and what their priorities are for future learning. This knowledge enables staff to plan activities that support children to make good progress in their learning. However, staff do not implement mathematical activities consistently to support the development of children's counting and number skills.
• Staff promote children's good health and independence. Children know they need to wash their hands before eating. Staff use consistent routines to develop children's understanding of hygiene and explain why they need to wash away germs. Children begin to use the toilet independently to prepare them for the next stage in their learning, such as going to school. Children sit together for lunch and enjoy freshly cooked, healthy meals and snacks. They learn to serve themselves and clean away their crockery after eating. There are opportunities throughout the day for children to have fresh air in the outdoor area.
• Children develop good communication skills. Staff encourage older children to talk about the choices they make in their play. Toddlers learn specific rhymes to help them learn new words to increase their vocabulary. Babies giggle as they point to the dog in a story that staff are reading to them, demonstrating their understanding of the spoken word.
• Parents talk positively about the nursery and how staff support their children to settle when they first start. They are delighted at the progress in their child's development since attending. Staff provide parents with support packs and specific books to help encourage learning at home. For example, staff provide activity packs for parents to support children's understanding of having a new sibling.
• Managers are passionate about maintaining a knowledgeable and skilled team, and they put great emphasis on the well-being of staff. For example, they encourage each staff member to praise the work of their colleagues. Managers thoughtfully consider the needs of the children when planning training for all staff. For example, staff undertake training to consider the learning needs of different cohorts of children, such as using the outdoor environment to support boys play and learning.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• extend and further challenge older children's development, consistently building on what they can already do
• support staff to deliver the curriculum for mathematics more effectively to build on children's understanding of number and counting.